


Error 404 - Access Denied

by aurics



Series: Spy!AU [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 14:19:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1713725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurics/pseuds/aurics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyungsoo is a secret agent and Baekhyun is a hacker trying to turn the world on its head, but he manages to turn Kyungsoo’s world instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Y for tolerating my constant whining and epiphanies, in the most unfavourable of times. Also thanks to [](http://keizeria.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://keizeria.livejournal.com/)**keizeria** for the prompts! I hope this is along the lines of what you were expecting!

****

  
“Have you been given all the necessary information required to complete this mission?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Are you sure?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“In that case, Agent D.O., I wish you the best of luck. It is not a light task that we are trusting you with here – nor is it easy.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
“Nineteen agents have failed to complete this mission. _Nineteen_.” Kyungsoo can hear hesitancy over the line, crystal clear in the beat of silence that follows. “Why do you sound so confident about this?”  
  
“Because I’m better than those nineteen agents combined.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
And Do Kyungsoo truly believes it, too. He doesn’t let himself forget that fact as he quickly stuffs the rest of his clothes into his zip bag and slings it over his shoulder. _It’s one thing to be prepared_ , he thinks, _but another to be truly skilled_.  
  
South Korea’s main Intelligence Agency has hit a seemingly unsolvable problem the past few months. And even though most onlookers have come to the verdict that the individual they’re dealing with is invulnerable, Kyungsoo thinks it comes down to the fact that the roster of young agents simply lack the expertise to execute such a mediocre assignment. They lack the know-how of covert operations, and lack the iron grip of principles Kyungsoo swears by every single night and day. They’re too soft, like the flimsy sandcastles that toddlers take pride in making, only for them to witness the waves dragging their empire away.  
  
That is the only problem of this mission, and now that Kyungsoo is taking over, the problem is pretty much solved. He really doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.  
  
  
-  
  
  
Being cooped up in the Head Office makes Kyungsoo forget, sometimes, just how much the metropolis of Seoul has grown over the years. He remembers the time when he couldn’t see a single skyscraper peeking out of his bedroom window, and now it’s hard to see anything _but_ the menacing buildings. But he likes it. He thinks of them as his cover, a shawl of moonless darkness in the middle of the night, where he could safely go about his business without unnecessary drama.  
  
Today is his first day of the mission, out of many to come. He’s been told that at this stage, the operation will take at least a couple of years, and that it will require much perseverance – which Kyungsoo doesn’t mind. He likes a little bit of challenge, and his recent missions have been nothing but tedious. Scouting amateur drug dealers, fighting off _gangpae_ , helping some newbies crack codes back in the headquarters – he has never been involved in a mission as vital as this. A mission that doesn’t only concern Seoul, or South Korea, but possibly the whole world.  
  
After a long casting process (in which Kyungsoo had to _genuinely_ put some effort in, for once), he has been officially recruited as an SM trainee, one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea. He’s been told that it’s where their target is most likely heading. And honestly, Kyungsoo can’t help but get excited, and possibly a little nervous, at the thought of a change of scenery with minimal distractions.  
  
“What’s up, bro!”  
  
Kyungsoo turns to his left, and inwardly sighs as he sees Chanyeol bound up to him like an overly-energised puppy. Right. Kyungsoo nearly forgot. He’s one of the newbies in the agency, and despite having a lot of ambition ( _too much_ , Kyungsoo would argue) and being almost a whole year older than Kyungsoo, he will need a lot of work to be able to get anywhere near Kyungsoo’s position. Kyungsoo takes pride in his ‘prodigy’ status, like he’s tailored and suited to fit the job.  
  
“Hi, Chanyeol.” The boy has been assigned to be Kyungsoo’s friend-slash-apprentice. “Starting our first day of work, huh.”  
  
“Actually, this is my 52nd day.”  
  
“I meant our fake jobs.”  
  
“Ooooohh, riiiight.” With a lopsided grin, Chanyeol sends him a none-too-obvious wink. “Our 'fake jobs' as trainees – trainees at SM – to pin our target. I got you, bro.”  
  
“Sseriously, Chanyeol, stop saying that. If you don’t shut your trap you’ll get us lynched within two minutes.” Kyungsoo checks his watch, ignoring the kicked-puppy expression Chanyeol has on. “And get a move on, otherwise we’ll miss our train.”  
  
“Do you have the documents ready?”  
  
This question startles Kyungsoo a little, who’s used to Chanyeol’s rather reckless side. He fumbles for the folder in his zipper bag. “Wait. I’m sure I put it somewhere here…”  
  
Seconds pass and Kyungsoo is still trying to rummage through the clear folders neatly arranged side-by-side. Chanyeol follows his every move with a smug look on his face.  
  
“Who’s going to get us lynched now?”  
  
“Oh, be quiet will you – ah, got it.” Kyungsoo hands him the documents, stealing a chance to flick his forehead. “And don’t you dare try to sass me.”  
  
“This is the guy?” Chanyeol mutters, rubbing his forehead and eyes raking over the glossy surface of the paper. Clipped to the right corner is a picture of a boy with mussed up brown hair, his skin pale but not unhealthy, with a rosy tinge to his cheeks. It resembles a passport picture, with white background and the boy wearing a humble navy blue shirt. His smile has an adorable lilt to it, the corners of his lips quirking up and showing white pearly teeth, the crescent of his eyes hiding his dark brown pupils. “He looks kind of…uh…”  
  
“Yeah. Not your typical criminal. I know.”  
  
“But then again, this whole thing is pretty weird. I mean,” Chanyeol laughs. “We’re trying to defeat a _hacker_ here.”  
  
“I know that, too.” Kyungsoo shrugs. “But that’s okay. We can get this done and over with _hopefully_ by a few months’ time.”  
  
Chanyeol’s nervous laughter accompanies the slow stop of the incoming train, hissing as the doors open to let the waves of passengers out, no one ever making eye contact with the myriad strangers filling up every patch of the platform.  
  
“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you.” Chanyeol casts a nervous glance before stepping onto the train. “Isn’t this, like, the most difficult mission they’ve ever had anyone try to complete? Especially considering our target is basically my age. He’s got to be a wild beast running havoc.”  
  
“I don’t think so.” Kyungsoo grips the handlebars overhead. “I think they just haven’t learned how to tame him yet.”  
  
But that was five years ago, back when they were 17.  
  
  
-  
  
  
Even Kyungsoo’s burning confidence has dwindled down over such a long period of time, although he’d repeatedly reassured himself that the slowness of their progress is justified. First off, they had to wait two years for their target to actually appear. They filled this time with painful hours of vocal and dance training, which Kyungsoo genuinely enjoyed despite always coming home with back pains and sore throat. He had never been one for a mundane life, but he realised he didn’t mind the routine. At least he felt like he wasn’t just sitting around doing nothing when he was so preoccupied with working hard to debut. It was a new kind of challenge – not one that required him to run in times of danger, but one that demanded nothing short of perfection in every choreography and every track.  
  
Eleven months before their debut date, however (and three months after Kyungsoo had more or less given up all hopes of finding their target), they were introduced to two boys. Both had black hair, and so it had taken Kyungsoo a while to recognise him.  
  
“Hello, I’m Byun Baekhyun.” The boy had bowed, smiling. It hit him then, like a freight train at full speed, and Kyungsoo could feel the shivers crawling up his back. “I’m the new trainee. It’s nice to meet you all, and I hope you’ll take good care of me.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
“Kyungsoo-yah.”  
  
“Hnng.”  
  
“Kyungsoo. Soo-yah. Kyungie.”  
  
“Oh my god, _what?_ ” Kyungsoo is forced to gasp out when he feels a deadweight settle on his back. The weight bounces up and down, crushing his torso and effectively cutting off his air supply. “Baekhyun, st – stop it!”  
  
Sometimes, Kyungsoo has to remind himself that he’s not allowed to actually kill the dude. Over the span of five years, the urge to do so has escalated uncontrollably.  
  
“Everyone’s hungry. It’s 10am already, how are you still asleep?”  
  
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Kyungsoo mumbles into his pillow, “I’ve been staying back at the studio way later than any of you. I’d like to take advantage of our rare day off to its full potential.”  
  
“By sleeping.”  
  
“Exactly.”  
  
Baekhyun makes a whining sound at the back of his throat, sounding eerily akin to a kicked puppy and Kyungsoo has to remind himself that he’s not dealing with a 5-year-old in a playground, but someone who could potentially send the whole country spiraling down.  
  
“Chanyeol’s undertaken the role of the prince saving us damsels in distress, and he’s attempting to cook scrambled eggs right now. Do you want us all to get food poisoning eating Chanyeol’s stuff?” He leans impossibly close, breathing down Kyungsoo’s neck. “Do you?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
Contemplating this, Kyungsoo is suddenly reminded of the time when Sehun had consumed a whole jar of organic honey only to discover that he was allergic to it, and had proceeded to vomit the entire day.  
  
Frankly, he can’t imagine five Sehuns in the dorm.  
  
“I’m getting up.” He grumbles, shoving Baekhyun away and trying hard not to stare at his triumphant face. “You owe me five hours of sleep.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
“I don’t understand.” Kyungsoo tells Chanyeol in the dressing room, a few hours before their scheduled album shoot.  
  
They’ve all entered the studio half-asleep at 6 in the morning, Kyungsoo cursing Junmyeon’s late-night lecture that effectively cut one hour and a half off his sleeping time. He didn’t really mind it as much as the other members, though – not when he had Baekhyun’s warm right side pressing onto his the whole time Junmyeon went over the basic interview etiquettes, with his head of now dusty brown hair eventually settling on his shoulder. Kyungsoo had returned the gesture, resting his head on the mop of brown hair and nuzzling a little, until he had caught Jongin staring at them strangely and only then did he realise what he was doing. But Baekhyun was so warm, so oddly familiar that he found himself not wanting to let go.  
  
He shakes his head. Those thoughts are back again.  
  
“Don’t understand what?”  
  
“Why this is taking us so long. I’m starting to think they’ve mistaken Baekhyun for someone else.” Kyungsoo picks at the slightly wrinkled t-shirt that he’d worn to sleep. He can’t wait to put their proper outfits on. “He doesn’t look like he’s doing… _anything_.”  
  
“Hmm. Do you remember what they told us? During briefing?”  
  
Kyungsoo frowns. “Of course. They told us this mission was probably going to take a while.”  
  
“That we’re not dealing with just _any_ criminal –“  
  
“– and that this guy is unique, but that he’s the responsibility of the agency so our main objective is to observe and intercept. Yes, yes, but that was five years ago, Chanyeol.” The back of Kyungsoo’s chair creaks as he slumps further into it. “And he hasn’t done anything particularly suspicious, other than trying to annoy the living hell out of everyone in the dorm.”  
  
Chanyeol sighs ruefully, as if reflecting on his five years’ experience with next to no accomplishment. “He’s really good at this, huh.”  
  
“We don’t even know what organisation or agency he works for.” A couple of their coordi-noonas walk past, and Kyungsoo lowers his voice, eyes going impossibly wide. “I’m starting to think he’s a lone wolf.”  
  
“What? As in, working all by himself?” Chanyeol snorts. “Impossible.”  
  
“No, really. Think about it, Chanyeol. If he was working with someone, we’d probably have figured it out by now. It’s much easier for someone to be exposed when they’re associated with other entities.”  
  
“But Baekhyun hasn’t figured us out.”  
  
Kyungsoo’s about to retort, saying that it’s not the same because they’re basically under the care of South Korea’s most secretive organisation with one of the best securities in the world, but he’s interrupted by the photographer’s voice somewhere in the hallway, shouting for the members to be out in twenty minutes.  
  
Reluctantly heaving himself out of his seat to quickly head off to hair and makeup – he doesn’t like to keep people waiting – Kyungsoo’s head is still spinning with unanswered questions that when Chanyeol places a hand on his shoulder, he only half-snaps out of his reverie.  
  
“But you know hyung, it’s not just him that’s prolonging this whole thing. I think it’s you, too.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo tries his best not to sound offended, even though Chanyeol’s seemingly-harmless jab sounds accusatory, creating a little dent in Kyungsoo’s perfectionism.  
  
“I see the way you look at Baekhyun sometimes.” Chanyeol laughs. “And don’t think I know what’s going on. I’m not a secret agent for nothing, you know.”  
  
“I’m not following…”  
  
“You like him, and I think that’s what’s holding us back the most.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
When Kyungsoo had first heard that he’d be dealing with a hacker, he was incredibly confused. A hacker? Prior to the briefing, he’d always thought of hackers as unemployed 20-somethings with nothing better to do than pick away at the thin veils of privacy surrounding other people’s SNS. Admittedly, he had been condescending the occupation – but that was because he never thought of the deed to ever take place on a large scale.  
  
“You know what kind of secrets the government, and other governments of the world, have behind closed doors.” His boss had told him.  
  
Kyungsoo knew perfectly well of the information withheld from the public in every country. Espionage is not limited to individuals – he knows of countries spying on their allies more heavily than the countries they have trouble finding common ground with. Just how much of the Internet they control, how much they monitor your every move, where the money that taxpayers pay go to, what is funded by which government and which country is secretly supplying weapons to which conflict in which part of the world – it was all a mess that Kyungsoo sometimes wishes he was never a part of.  
  
“Now, I want you to imagine all this information being in the hands of the public. What would happen then?”  
  
Upon hearing that, Kyungsoo had felt his knees go weak. If this Byun Baekhyun had the power to do that, he realises that this certainly is not an easy mission.  
  
But Kyungsoo was young and determined, so he replied, with the conviction of a veteran, “I wouldn’t let that happen.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
Kyungsoo fully expected Baekhyun to be sitting in his and Jongin’s shared bedroom with a laptop on his lap when he has finished drying his hair with a towel after his two-o’clock shower. There’s not much else to do in the dorm after all, with everyone else out for the day and the M members back in China. Usually, Kyungsoo would be tending to their hyperactive maknaes running amok with their games and trying to appease Chanyeol’s constant whining for food, but now that he’s got a bit of free time he’s not sure what to do with it.  
  
What he doesn’t expect is to find Baekhyun’s laptop sitting innocently on his tabletop, screen graced with Baekhyun’s embarrassing screensaver of their debut era pictures – most of them quite unattractive.  
  
This also means Baekhyun has left his laptop unlocked.  
  
After a quick glance over his shoulder and confirming that Baekhyun is in the bathroom near the living room by the sound of running water, Kyungsoo tiptoes in.  
  
He can’t believe his luck when he shakes the mouse only to see files upon files left open in overlapping windows, and after skim-reading the contents Kyungsoo realises that they’re government documents. He has to grip the desk painfully hard to stop himself from collapsing. _They’re all here_. He clicks open another window, and is met with pages and pages of codes that he decides the agency will have to decipher later. At the bottom of every file is an official-looking seal, and each pdf is marred with a watermark.  
  
Minimising the documents, he clicks open the folder of origin, which is full of other subfolders. He scrolls down, silently shaking his head at Baekhyun’s carelessness. He can’t believe a hacker would leave his laptop unattended, opened on probably the most important files of his short-lived career. At least it makes his job easier. Baekhyun is smart enough to name the folders conspicuously – but not conspicuous enough to make a folder’s name less obvious than the rest, because soon Kyungsoo stumbles upon a folder named ‘X’. With his heartbeat running a mile a minute, he double-clicks it.  
  
 _Damn it_ , he curses to himself. The folder is locked, with a dialog box popping up to ask for a passcode. He’ll have to figure this out later – right now he’s on a time constraint, and his main objective is to get his hands on the file. Kyungsoo rummages his pocket for the thumb drive he brings everywhere and sticks it in the laptop, hurriedly copy pasting every single file in the folder –  
  
“Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun’s voice reverberates through the hallways.  
  
As nonchalantly as he can, Kyungsoo asks, “What is it?”  
  
“Can you hand me a towel? I forgot mine in my room, I think.”  
  
“Hold on a sec.” Kyungsoo replies, willing every part of the laptop to pick up pace. . The transfer finishes just as he hears Baekhyun’s voice reverberating through the hallway, repeating his request and he quickly rips the thumb drive out of its port.  
  
“I’m coming!” He returns the laptop to its initial state, before grabbing Baekhyun’s towel and speed walking to the bathroom.  
  
“Thanks,” Baekhyun grins between the gap in the open door. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”  
  
At Baekhyun’s confident tone, Kyungsoo silently chokes, willing unwanted images away from his mind lest they corrupt his sanity too early in his life. His voice comes out rather hoarse when he replies, “Of course not.”  
  
“Are you sure?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Okay then.” Baekhyun grins again before he closes the door.  
  
And Kyungsoo doesn’t know why, but the grin has left him feeling just the slightest bit paranoid.  
  
  
-  
  
  
Chaos breaks out in South Korea the next morning.  
  
Every news station is drowned in headlines, never resting even for a commercial break with the tirade of reports renewing every minute. Kyungsoo is turned away from the TV and trying very hard to focus on the beef the members are craving for brunch, not liking the way the rapid headlines fly past the screen in successions. To him, they sound like castigation, reprimanding him for his incompetence in the past few years.  
  
“Classified government and Intelligence Agency data has been leaked to the public by an unidentified hacker.”  
  
“ _Classified_ is probably an understatement,” Jongin mumbles through his glass of milk. “The whole country is tripping over its feet trying to sort this out, and it’s only eleven in the morning.”  
  
He’s quickly muted by his members in a tirade of _shhh!_ , and this is one of the rare times in which Kyungsoo wishes Jongin would just ignore everyone else and keep talking nonsense. Of course, no such thing happens.  
  
“PowerPoint slides published by the hacker outlines the workings of _Boundless Informant_ , a tool used by the South Korean government to collect “near real-time” statistics and citizen data –“  
  
Junmyeon switches the channel, and another news anchor with a practiced serious expression appears.  
  
“– it has also been disclosed that the South Korean government is not only spying on its own citizens, but citizens of Japan and China as well, through many means such as bugging optic cables and harvesting online user metadata –“  
  
“ – a document, as-yet unpublished, leaked by the hacker discusses a brand new technology, allowing the South Korean government to direct and re-direct into its own depositories 1 billion cell phone calls every single day –“  
  
Junmyeon continues clicking, eyes never leaving the screen.  
  
“– Foreign diplomats of South Korea’s allies, including the United States, have been revealed to have their personal forms of communications such as mobile phones, tapped by the South Korean government.”  
  
“Wow,” Junmyeon frowns, fingers furiously flicking channels and glazing over similar-looking headlines. “I didn’t even know our country had the ability to do all this.”  
  
“Me neither.” Chanyeol replies, and Kyungsoo can’t tell if he’s being serious or not. In the slightly cramped living room, the air has a tinge of nervousness to it, and it takes all of Kyungsoo’s self-control not to suffocate under the nauseating pressure.  
  
“Does this mean we’re all under surveillance now?” Sehun pipes up.  
  
“I guess so.”  
  
“Isn’t that against our privacy rights, or something?”  
  
Jongin huffs and plants his head on Sehun’s shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m just hungry. Kyungsoo, is the beef nearly done?”  
  
But Kyungsoo doesn’t hear his question, too stunned to do anything but stare blankly at the TV screen. He doesn’t even have time to feel sorry for the beef he’d burnt as his eyes rake over the dorm to settle on a particular figure, resting his chin in his hands on the tabletop, looking incredibly bored as channel upon channel recites the same thing, over and over. _I wouldn’t let that happen_ , he remembers himself saying all those years ago. And yet here he is, letting Baekhyun pass through him like he was made of mist.  
  
It only serves as a reminder to Kyungsoo that when Baekhyun lets him slip into a false sense of security, he’ll have to haul himself back up.  
  
  
-  
  
  
“He’s releasing data much faster than we anticipated – our data, as well, not just the government’s. We need you to send us anything you find.”  
  
“I found something.”  
  
“Elaborate.”  
  
“A couple of days ago. I found something in his laptop, and –”  
  
“Brilliant. Send it to us right away, as soon as possible. We’re not just battling against Byun Baekhyun the hacker, now, Agent D.O. Time has also become our nemesis.”  
  
Kyungsoo closes the phone, and he should probably be crazy relieved, whooping in triumph, and drowning in self-appreciation, because the five-year-long mission is about to come to an end, and he will emerge a victor. But all he feels is dread, slowly sinking from his chest to the bottom of his stomach.  
  
To Kyungsoo, _Game Over_ no longer has the same appeal to it.  
  
  
-  
  
  
Days have passed since that day in the studio, and yet Kyungsoo is still wounded by what Chanyeol has said. Sacrificing his job? For someone? Because _Kyungsoo loves him?_. That’s impossible, Kyungsoo is not an easy man to swayed. If Baekhyun is trying to swipe him off his feet, he’d have to do more than just be himself.  
  
(But the more Kyungsoo repeats this in his head, the less he believes it.)  
  
“Oh, Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun looks up from his laptop where he was furiously typing away a minute ago, seemingly surprised to see Kyungsoo leaning against the doorframe of his room. He hitches his glasses up his nose, all the while maintaining a carefree expression. Kyungsoo has to give it to him – Baekhyun’s quite the natural. “You want anything?”  
  
“Nah, just hanging around. Since we’re alone in the dorm and all.” Kyungsoo thinks it’s strange how his heartbeat quickens at the thought of just the two of them being there. “The manager took everyone out for medical check-up. I had mine yesterday.”  
  
 _Alone._  
  
Kyungsoo lets himself get lost in his thoughts. How nice that sounds – if only nothing entails their relationship. Sometimes Kyungsoo wonders what it’d be like if he never had to see Baekhyun as a threat. Would he allow himself to fall more for Baekhyun? Or would they be even more awkward, as Kyungsoo’s incentive to know him better in order to manipulate him is eradicated. But he thinks that’s wrong – it’s all wrong. He realises that all this time he’s been trying to get to know Baekhyun because he’s _Baekhyun_. He wonders if he’d try to make Baekhyun fall more in love with him, under the disguise of passive-aggressive comments and unnecessary slaps to the shoulders, and occasionally laughing at what Baekhyun says a little louder than necessary if he was just Do Kyungsoo, and not _Agent D.O._  
  
He realises that Chanyeol is right, that it’s the first time Kyungsoo has ever put his job second to anything else.  
  
“Yeah, you’re right.” Baekhyun mumbles, gaze deadlocked onto Kyungsoo’s. It’s like he’s scanning his mind, trying desperately to hack into Kyungsoo’s thought processes and dissect it just like Kyungsoo knows he does with every other document. “It’s probably going to get boring soon.”  
  
“It doesn’t have to.” Kyungsoo shrugs. “As long as we find something to do.”  
  
“I don’t know. I kind of like talking, just like this.”  
  
Kyungsoo slightly squints at Baekhyun. He isn’t particularly hyped up about _just talking_ to Baekhyun. It increases the chances of vital information being accidentally blurted out in the most unnecessary manner – that’s why he prefers to keep quiet during interviews and discussions, only contributing when prompted. Kyungsoo has a clean record in terms of keeping information secure, but he’s always cautious. That’s what sets him apart from the other agents.  
  
“Okay. Let’s talk.”  
  
  
Several boxes of takeout chickens later, the pair is sprawled across the mustard-coloured couch with the first buttons of their jeans popped open, laughter sounding much more drunken than they actually are (a couple of cans of cheap beer don’t really do much, anyway). Rather, they’re intoxicated by something else. Maybe each other, maybe the lame jokes they’re exchanging; Kyungsoo doesn’t know, but he doesn’t particularly care either. Not when Baekhyun suddenly shifts to plant his head squarely in Kyungsoo’s lap. He would have fallen out of his seat in surprise if it wasn’t for Baekhyun’s weight pinning him down.  
  
Suddenly he’s incredibly conscious about his hands. Where is he supposed to place them? Can he run his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair? But Kyungsoo doesn’t trust himself in his slightly drunken stupor, so he opts for the safest option; letting them lay limp by his sides.  
  
“Your thighs are nice.” Baekhyun hums, rubbing the material of Kyungsoo’s trousers and landing slightly stinging slaps to them. “They’re soft. You should work out.”  
  
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Kyungsoo fights down an incoming blush. He’s been teased a lot about his tummy fat, amongst various other body parts, and he likes those thoughts best when they’re as far away from him as possible.  
  
“I’m kidding. I like this.” Baekhun nuzzles his thigh, and Kyungsoo almost yelps because this boy really has no concept of personal space, even after all these years. “I like you.”  
  
The words settle themselves nicely into Kyungsoo’s subconscious, sending a tingly feeling from his head to the tip of his toes. He laughs, taking another gulp out of his can until he makes the mistake of looking down. Baekhyun’s staring right up at him with perfectly sober eyes, unwavering until Kyungsoo’s laugh dies down to a nervous whisper.  
  
“What?” His best passive face is on show once again. “Why are you staring at me like that?”  
  
Baekhyun licks his lips, and it’s only then does Kyungsoo notice something he hasn’t seen from Baekhyun in a while – not since their debut stage, their first interview, and his first performance on Immortal Song. Baekhyun is nervous, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know why.  
  
“Hey. Are you okay?”  
  
Caught off guard by Kyungsoo’s voice that suddenly takes on a soft tone, Baekhyun shakes his head. “No. I mean, yeah, but…” He bites his lips. “Kyungsoo, I think…I think I like you.”  
  
Something in Kyungsoo’s voice is screaming in vehement objection. There are glaringly red hazard signs flashing above the statement, telling Kyungsoo to back off. Abort mission. Take cover, save yourself, because this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Kyungsoo was supposed to live down his developing crush quietly while silently buying more time for the two of them to spend together, even with ten other members around, and pretending they lead normal lives. Normal, teenage lives, and not the lives of a prodigy hacker and a secret agent, each of them stealthily lying in the bushes and waiting for the chance to strike.  
  
He wants to live in the delusion that is _this_ life, as an EXO member, because it means having Baekhyun by his side, and not in the hands of authorities.  
  
“Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun has scrambled up, face hovering dangerously close to his. Kyungsoo should’ve known – Baekhyun isn’t one to give up so easily. “You know, it’s okay. I’m not expecting you to like me back or anything.”  
  
Something clenches painfully in Kyungsoo’s chest, like iron bands clasping around his torso. “No. No, I –“  
  
In the silence that follows, Baekhyun seems to be speaking to Kyungsoo much more than what they’ve been exchanging for the past three years without a single word being uttered. The emotions Kyungsoo detects in Baekhyun’s eyes is ever-changing – first confusion, then hesitance, and then the cloud of doubt until it all clears to give way to the expression Kyungsoo knows best. _Fearless_.  
  
“Can I –“  
  
The question comes out more as a statement than a question because Kyungsoo feels his eyelids droop down to a close. He panics. _What are you doing, Kyungsoo? Get a grip on yourself! He’s the man you’ve been hunting down for five years!_  
  
But that’s all the encouragement Baekhyun needs before he swoops down to capture Kyungsoo’s lips with his, pressing so insistently that Kyungsoo has to scramble back to lean on the couch lest he loses his balance and accidentally breaks off the kiss. He really doesn’t want to do that right now. Baekhyun’s lips are warm and impatient, tugging Kyungsoo’s full bottom lip and licking inside his mouth, swallowing all the little noises he makes. Kyungsoo feels warm palms and cold fingertips slide underneath his shirt, tracing the goosebumps on his stomach and the slight dips and curves of –  
  
“I’m sorry I don’t have abs.” He manages to gasp out a little mindlessly between kisses. When Baekhyun leans away, he’s got an amused glint in his eyes. He laughs, and Kyungsoo wishes it can be liquefied and drunk because he wants to be filled, until he’s so, so full of Baekhyun’s laughter and smiles and his lame jokes.  
  
“Do you really think I care?” Baekhyun murmurs, lips hovering over Kyungsoo’s and breath warm on his spit-slick skin. He starts to trace Kyungsoo’s jawline with his teeth and leaving behind crimson-red marks that Kyungsoo wishes are darker. “I like every single thing about you.”  
  
When Baekhyun starts tugging at his shirt as a silent plea to take it off, Kyungsoo holds his hands down. “No, we can’t. Not now.”  
  
Baekhyun’s looks slightly hurt. “Why not?”  
  
“They’re going to come back soon, we –“  
  
Sure enough, they hear keys rattling in the lock that often gets stuck and Chanyeol’s deep voice at the other side of the door.  
  
Kyungsoo gives Baekhyun a once-over, taking in his disheveled state with his hair sticking in places and red swollen lips. Strangely, he takes pride in this. He wonders if he looks just as bad. “They can’t see us like this.”  
  
The door swings open and Kyungsoo jumps right off the couch, running to the bathroom without a second thought and locking himself in. Maybe he should feel bad about practically throwing Baekhyun under the bus, but Baekhyun’s a notorious hacker who has the ability to have the world’s political power in his hands. He can fend for himself.  
  
Kyungsoo can be a little selfish like that.  
  
  
-  
  
  
“We’ve got a problem.”  
  
Kyungsoo frowns, holding the cell phone closer to his ear and wrapping the jacket tighter around himself, despite the warm weather of the night.  
  
“What is it?”  
  
“Are you alone?”  
  
He gives the streets another check, scanning his surroundings. “Yes. I’m outside.”  
  
“The files you sent us. They had nothing to do with what he leaked or what he’s _going_ to leak.”  
  
“What?” Kyungsoo frowns. “They were in his laptop. I skim-read them, and I sorted them out into folders for deciphering and for scanning –“  
  
“Yes, but the content. None of the information there is of extreme confidentiality. A newbie code breaker managed to decipher the codes in three minutes flat. As if this doesn’t tell you enough, the message contained makes very little sense, much less hold any kind of significance to this mission.”  
  
His shaking hand finds the wall behind him, and Kyungsoo slowly lowers himself onto the ground, not trusting his legs to keep himself up any more. He leans his forehead on his knees. It’s all a mess.  
  
“Impossible.” He whispers.  
  
“Moreover, we managed to intercept some data that was about to be leaked; more on the government’s mass surveillance programs, and some about cracking foreign cryptography.” He hears exasperation at the other end of the line. Even his Boss is running out of ways to solve this. “If he were to possess all this, with all the information he has leaked, and more potential data that he’s planning to leak, we’re talking about 1.7 million pieces of data. And the amount you’ve sent us – it’s an amount too meager to cover that.”  
  
The line is silent, Kyungsoo shutting his eyes and trying hard not to feel like his whole world is crashing down on him in one sudden motion.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Composure is recollected across the line. “We’ll have to end our conversation here, but we’ll keep in touch in a few more days. Otherwise, please continue with your task.”  
  
The phone call goes dead, along with seemingly every cell in Kyungsoo’s body. His limbs go limp beside him. Where did he go wrong? As far as he’s concerned, this is the most progress they’ve had in a while. What if Baekhyun’s not the one? No, that’s impossible. But then why would his folders be worthless? Why would useless files be filling up his laptop, as if they’re there as a decoy?  
  
Kyungsoo’s not sure how long he spends in that position until an epiphany dawns on him. He almost slaps himself in the process of pulling out his phone again, redialing his most recent contact.  
  
“Hello?”  
  
“What about folder ‘X’?” Kyungsoo asks breathlessly. “It was locked. I’m sure Baekhyun was hiding something in there – maybe all the files we didn’t get our hands on. Did you manage to access it?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“And?”  
  
“Kyungsoo,” It’s the first time his Boss had called him by his real name. “That was what we thought as well. A machine managed to unlock it in exactly nine seconds.”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Kyungsoo, the folder is empty.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
  
After their first triple crown, the manager decides they’ve worked hard enough to earn themselves a free dinner. The six of them flock to their favourite Korean BBQ restaurant, atmosphere charged with adrenaline and spirits high as Jongin recounts the backstage mishaps of their music video filming for the nth time.  
  
All through dinner Baekhyun acts unlike himself. When he would usually be fixated on how long it would take for their order to arrive and filling in the waiting gap with dumb games that he coaxes the members to join in, he now doesn’t even blink when their giant set of barbecue arrives. He simply stares at his white plate absent-mindedly, his face a little grey under the yellow glow of the restaurant’s lighting.  
  
“Baekhyun hyung!” Sehun waves his chopsticks in front of him, pointing to the large serving of raw beef. “Earth to Baekhyun hyung! Your true love is here!”  
  
Baekhyun doesn’t even look at the grill as his phone rings, and Kyungsoo catches a glimpse of his screen. _Mother_.  
  
“Sorry guys, I need to take this call. My mother might scold me otherwise.” His laugh sounds forced, and he all but runs out the restaurant.  
  
It takes Kyungsoo two seconds to stand up and follow him outside, muttering a _I’ll go check if he’s okay_ to a questioning Junmyeon. He hovers over the door for a while, looking over his shoulder at Chanyeol who has stiffened in his seat.  
  
It’s reassuring to have Chanyeol at a time like this – someone who’s able to read Kyungsoo’s mind with a single gaze, because in a spiraling vortex of a mess he needs something – or someone – to keep his head intact.  
  
 _It’s okay. I’ll call you if anything goes wrong._  
  
Chanyeol slowly nods in affirmation, and Kyungsoo all but sprints out the door.  
  
The sky is starless as always, and the streetlights give off an eerie flicker to the dark streets. It doesn’t take him long to spot Baekhyun’s white hoodie bobbing in the dark and turning a corner.  
  
The first thing he hears when he’s close enough is Baekhyun sighing.  
  
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll have them compressed by tonight. What? No, that’s just a portion of what I have. Yeah, yeah, they’re in my hard drives.”  
  
Baekhyun scuffs his shoes on the pavement.  
  
“No, I haven’t broken through that firewall yet. I’ve only gotten past the second barrier, the third’s the tricky bit. It’s pretty tight security – a given, really. They’re the country’s best Intelligence Agency.” Kyungsoo has to lean on the concrete wall to stop himself from shaking uncontrollably, because Baekhyun is trying to hack into South Korea’s most secure network, one of the most secretive networks in the world.  
  
No. He _has_ gotten past their security barriers. Just not all of them.  
  
“But they’ve got most of the data I need. I have to break through it if I –“  
  
Kyungsoo only hears the crash of Baekhyun’s phone against the gravel, knocked out of his hands by none other than Kyungsoo who’s acting impulsively as anger courses through his veins. He glares at the face he’s become so familiar with over the years, his thoughts out of control. He’s got his forearm pressed against Baekhyun’s neck in warning, seething, but Baekhyun only lets himself be surprised for a second before reverting back to his confident expression.  
  
“Oh, it’s you.” Baekhyun’s toothy smile glints in the dark. “I kind of expected you to come.”  
  
“What. Are. You. _Doing_.”  
  
“Have you never seen someone take a phone call before?”  
  
If Baekhyun wants to use his 10 years’ worth of hapkido skills now, it’d be the perfect chance as Kyungso knocks his head back against the concrete, tightening his grip on the man’s shoulder. But Baekhyun doesn’t even flinch.  
  
“I don’t need your sass right now, Byun Baekhyun.”  
  
“And I don’t need your barbaric methods, so let me go and let’s sort this out like civil people.” Kyungsoo squints, unbelieving. Baekhyun exhales exasperatedly. “I’m not about to take off anywhere.”  
  
He releases his hold on Baekhyun in a split second, but all Baekhyun does is take a deep breath and dust off his pristine white hoodie, as if he hasn’t just been in a death grip a second ago. But now Kyungsoo feels like he’s met with a dead end. What’s he supposed to do with Baekhyun now? Arrest him? Interrogate him? All he’s ever been assigned to was to survey and intercept his efforts. He hasn’t been given clear-cut directions about what to do in a confrontation, much less a situation where he’s about to be exposed.  
  
“Was it you?” Kyungsoo tries for a distraction, while he silently pulls his phone out from his back pocket and blindly fumbling for his speed dial. “Who leaked all that data? Who was that on the phone?”  
  
“I think you already know the answer, Kyungsoo, and if we’re going to do this civilly I suggest you drop your phone right now. Let’s do this fair and square.”  
  
Cursing, Kyungsoo retracts his hand. “Who was that on the phone?” He repeats.  
  
“Connection over at a news station. Biggest one in Korea.”  
  
Kyungsoo knows for a fact that this is not true – not when none of the news channels have their hands on the full raw data Baekhyun has leaked. “Lies come out of your mouth so well.”  
  
His target grins. “I try.”  
  
“Are you working alone?”  
  
“Truthfully, this isn’t how I pictured being caught in my head.” Baekhyun blows a part of his fringe away. “But yeah, I work alone.”  
  
“You’re an undercover hacker disguised as an idol, how else did you picture it in your head?”  
  
Tipping his head back, Baekhyun’s laugh sounds incredibly bitter, like he expected Kyungsoo to say that. “Of course. Is that what the SIA tells you then?”  
  
His fists clench in his pocket. “What?”  
  
“It’s fine. I know everything.”  
  
Kyungsoo takes a shaky step back, all of a sudden feeling uncharacteristically nauseous. Baekhyun had always had that effect on him, but even more so now, with his dark hair falling into his eyes that seem to pierce his soul a thousand layers deep.  
  
“H-How? When?”  
  
“You probably thought I was really stupid, that time when I went for a shower and left my laptop open.”  
  
 _Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck._  
  
“I didn’t leave it there because I was careless.” Baekhyun sneers, but it sounds empty and hollow. It sounds like anything _but_ Baekhyun. “I left it there because I suspected you.”  
  
“The only person that should be doing any suspecting is –“  
  
“Let me speak.” It’s unnerving, how composed Baekhyun looks on the outside; but his trembling voice gives him away. “If you were anyone else, you wouldn’t have spared those documents a glance. If you were Junmyeon, you would’ve respected my privacy and minimised the window. If you were Jongin, you’d look at it, decide that there were too many words to read, and open the browser window. If you were Chanyeol, you’d probably miss it completely.”  
  
Kyungsoo hates how Baekhyun is still able to joke in such a situation.  
  
“Only you would pore over the document, look at the folders it belonged to, commit the contents to memory, and later paste them into your personal thumb drive. Only you would take the slightest interest in what I do.” Baekhyun smirks. “Because you, Agent D.O. of South Korea’s Intelligence Agency, was assigned all those years ago, to track me down.”  
  
Feeling five years’ worth of experience and perseverance leave his body, Kyungsoo only manages a single word. “When?”  
  
“You seem to forget that I’m a hacker. Your security system, I admit, was the hardest to break through out of all the others I’ve had to deal with. It took me years. But a few months ago I found traces of your information, and funnily, I found myself in them, too. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. And frankly speaking, I’m quite a genius.”  
  
“You are so. Full. Of yourself.”  
  
Baekhyun laughs at this. “Maybe. But at least I’m better at caring about people than anyone else in this country.”  
  
“And that’s why every confidential information the government possesses is released to the public?” Kyungsoo’s voice rises out of control.  
  
“Of course. Tell me, Kyungsoo. Who do you get orders from?”  
  
“What? Why –“  
  
“Have you ever questioned your Boss’ orders? Or do you take them like a good little dog trained to pick up the stick after it’s been thrown?” Exteriors of Baekhyun’s tenacity are peeling away, slowly exposing to Kyungsoo the passion and conviction that burns true within Baekhyun. “Have you ever, for once, sat and thought about why you have to subject yourself to a life controlled by higher-ups? Why strings are needed to puppet you around when their pea-brains don’t stand a chance against yours?”  
  
“Shut up, don’t speak of them like –“  
  
“This is exactly what I’m talking about,” Baekhyun’s accusatory tone cuts through Kyungsoo. “There. Once someone toes the line about the government, ruler or whatever, they’re told to shut up and back off, like they’re committing a sin. You know how people live in this country! Their every move is tracked! The privacy that they so highly covet turns out to be a fraud! And _you_ , knowing all this inside out.” The look of disbelief on Baekhyun’s face almost makes Kyungsoo second-guess himself. “You’ve done nothing to change it.”  
  
“Just because one person is unhappy doesn’t mean –“  
  
“No. I’m not the only one. I’m just the only person brave enough to make a move. You saw how people reacted to the news. Now tell it to my face that they’re happy living their lives like this.”  
  
Kyungsoo shakes his head, turning to the concrete wall and landing a frustrated kick on the surface. “That’s not what they told me. It’s not what I thought about you. You were supposed to try and take over the government, you’re supposed to…to…”  
  
“You should know by now that I don’t always tell the truth, Soo.”  
  
It hurts hearing the affectionate nickname leave Baekhyun’s mouth at a time like this, when he remembers so vividly how ecstatic he’d been when Baekhyun called him that because maybe then they were much closer as friends – but now it sounds just as fake as Baekhyun himself.  
  
“There are times when I have, Soo. Told the truth, I mean. Like the time I…told you I liked you. I wasn’t lying. I really did – do.”  
  
His fingers find his own hair, almost tearing the strands apart. Kyungsoo feels like crying. “I can’t trust you. I don’t know which truth to believe. You’re always so…so full of _lies_. Everything you’ve done is part of a master plan.”  
  
“But aren’t you a part of one as well?”  
  
“Yes, but I’m clean cut. I’m a secret agent. I work for the South Korean government, and during the day I’m a main vocal of EXO. My name is Do Kyungsoo.” His voice dwindles down to a mere whisper, and each syllable is laced with hurt that he’d been harbouring. “And you. I don’t even know if your real name is Byun Baekhyun or not.”  
  
The sad smile that graces Baekhyun’s lips between the tears that start to paint tracks on his cheeks nearly fool Kyungsoo into thinking that this is all genuine, that Baekhyun isn’t an act and that the past three years have not been a mirage, but something tangible that Kyungsoo ought to keep close to his heart.  
  
But he’s done being taken for a fool, so he sheds no tears, keeping his face emotionless even as Baekhyun lets out the most heart-wrenching laugh he has ever heard, strained in the throat made for a singer as he slowly backs away, darkness seeping into his hoodie until he’s nearly swallowed by the shadows. Kyungsoo stays rooted the ground.  
  
“You’re not about to find out anytime soon, either.”  
  
  
-  
  
  
Baekhyun is gone by the next morning, and no amount of calls and voice mails and texts ever grants them a word in reply. Junmyeon tries to calm them down, saying with a strained laugh that maybe Baekhyun has urgent matters to tend to, and that he’ll be back by dinner today.  
  
But Kyungsoo knows that he’s gone forever. And for once, Kyungsoo doesn’t feel the need to chase him.  
  
“On another note, I just read the papers today. It was an article about the hacker who’s been leaking all the government information being on the run right now, and how he’s so good that they can’t even track his name down. He’s presumably heading off to China now.” Junmyeon shakes the papers around in his hands. “The whole world is looking for him.”  
  
Kyungsoo’s blood turns cold.  
  
  
-  
  
  
“Have you been given all the necessary information required to complete this mission?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Are you sure?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“You will be deployed to Beijing in a few hours. The vehicle will leave in exactly three minutes after its arrival, and no more. Please make sure you are on time.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“In that case, Agent Lu Han, I wish you the best of luck.”  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
  


* * *

  
1\. Inspired by Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing deeds.  
2\. For the fic’s sake, let’s pretend SK spends a lot more time on their endeavours to spy on people than in reality.  
3\. Written with amateur knowledge about the world of hacking and espionage; sorry for any glaring errors!  
  
---


End file.
